Korean War
June 25, 1950 · 20th Century
On June 25, 1950, North Korean forces crossed the 38th parallel in a coordinated invasion of South Korea. The United Nations authorized a multinational response led by the United States; China intervened in October 1950 when UN forces approached the Yalu River. Three years of fighting produced approximately one million military deaths and up to three million civilian casualties. The July 1953 armistice established a 4-kilometer Demilitarized Zone but no peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war.
Key Figures
Harry S. TrumanKim Il-sungSyngman RheeDouglas MacArthurMao Zedong
Locations
SeoulPyongyangBusanInchon
Topics
communismUN police actionsars
Connected Events — 4 Connections
Korean War froze US-China relations for two decades; Nixon 1972 visit explicitly ended the 25-year diplomatic separation the war cemented Nixon Visit to China
North Korea June 25 invasion pushed UN and South Korean forces into a defensive perimeter around Pusan by August 1950 Battle of Pusan Perimeter
First North Korean combat deployment outside peninsula since North Korea Deploys Troops to Fight in Russia
Conducted in same Cold War context as CIA and MI6 Overthrow Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh
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